Now Mandai Park Holdings, owners of the zoo (in Singapore the attraction is known as Mandai Zoo), is turning its attention to people, building a new eco-friendly rainforest resort with “seed pod” rooms that allow you to get up close and personal with nature.

Designed by WOW Architects, the 338-room resort will have standard suites with views into the rainforest but the main event will be 24 tree houses, elevated off the forest floor in the trees surrounding the resort. And they’ll be designed in the shape of seed pods. Very cool.

PART OF THE SCENERY

It’s pretty clever stuff. Much of the resort will be elevated several feet above the ground allowing wildlife to roam freely below, but the four stories of the central buildings still won’t reach above the lofty upper canopy of the rainforest.

“The resort was designed with the native flora and fauna as inspiration, and the architecture and interior design will showcase the biodiversity of Mandai for guests to appreciate and learn from,” WOW Architects managing director Wong Chiu Man said in a news release.

“When completed, the building and the landscape will become a holistic, immersive experience.”

The resort is also intended to be as low energy, sustainable and environmentally friendly as possible. Rooms will feature natural ventilation and solar panels powering mixed-mode air conditioning, while the nifty tree houses will be cooled using chilled water.

ZOO LIFE

The 11-acre site’s placement behind Singapore Zoo’s back-of-house facilities will also give guests the opportunity to interact with the zoo along with the Jurong Bird Park, which is due to relocate to Mandai next year, and a new rainforest park. What’s on offer? Think behind-the-scenes programs, guided nature walks and hands-on experiences.

Chief executive of Mandai Park Holdings Mike Barclay told Singapore’s Straits Times that guests could, for example, be taken into elephant enclosures in the evening to help zookeepers put together “food puzzles.” Guests would then return the following morning to witness the elephants pull apart the branches to get at the food inside.

The yet-to-be-named resort will be operated by Banyan Tree Holdings. It will be the company’s first property in Singapore and is due to open in 2023.

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